12 Oakdale

We began with 3 days at the condo Mary and Ryan rented at Englewood Beach. Across the street and a block north was the public beach. I loved the Gulf, and it’s still “of Mexico”, no matter how much our Dear Leader thinks we will call it “of America”. Bella rode with us, so we stopped by Venice Pier to reconnoiter about finding sharks’ teeth, the main mission of this part of their vacation. Sadly, the road to the best area was destroyed in the last round of hurricanes so it would be a trek. We could, however, rent a scoop, i.e. Florida Snow Shovel, at $10/day and use it right there. No, we could not rent one for several days,  Information gathered, we drove on south to the Chadwick Cove condo, a 2-story building on the bay. Set up on stilts, the 1st floor (ours) was a 3-bedroom unit. Upstairs were 2 2-bedroom ones. Perfect for various sized families and groups, Ryan’s father and stepmom had arrived but weren’t around. Grant managed the stairs up and settled in for the stay. Bella an...

Good grief. On our way north, I saw parts of Florida I hadn’t seen in years. Between construction on the turnpike and accidents (Kathy’s phone said 4), my GPS app Waze routed us along backroads hither and yon. A stop for a coke and to pee after one of the suggested side roads was closed, and we had to go even further afield. Finally, we got on I-75, slow but at least moving. Originally planned as a visit to my dearest friend, coincidentally it was Gainesville Fine Art Association’s annual showcase weekend. After our dinner at the Top (gnocchi with pesto sauce for me), we stopped at the opening reception, met some of the artists who are Sally’s friends, and perused the map to decide on which studios we wanted to visit the next day. Up at not o’dark hundred, followed by leisurely breakfast. First stop was a group of artists that rent studios at a Presbyterian church which no longer needs the rooms as Sunday school classes since the congregation doesn’t have any young people. The greying ...

My first professional  hair cut in over a year. I told OJ to cut it as short as the shortest hairs left from my last home attempt with our clippers. She was skeptical but game. It always grows back. I think my one-inch buzz is the same haircut as my father wore when I was young. His was browner; mine is grayer. Having OJ wash my hair and massage my scalp was delightful. In Naples, there was a Polynesian woman who came into a local salon once a week just to have her magnificent long black hair washed. Now I know what a pleasure that is. Little by little, we seem to be returning to pre-Covid practices. Steph has been called back to her office full time at the end of March, so Clara returned to face school. Governors of several states are relaxing mask mandates. People are congregating. Yet, the numbers are still terrible. Even though they are dropping, they are above last summer’s highest. I think we have fatigue from the pandemic. It may not be over, but people are done with co...